An Undertaker in the Old West

                                                                          by Laura Strickland

 

Life certainly wasn’t easy for settlers in the Old West. If the journey to a new homestead didn’t get you, dozens of other perils could shorten—or, indeed, end—your life. A fall from a horse, an attack by bandits, or Native tribes defending their territory. Bears, wolves, and river crossings all presented clear danger. An illness, be it a fever or infection from a wound left untreated too long, had serious consequences. And, of course, you always had to watch out for those pesky gunslingers with their six-shooters.

Most towns didn’t have an Undertaker, as such. Doctors, barbers, or even furniture makers might double for that duty. Various methods of preservation were attempted, everything from applying arsenic to dunking the corpse in a whisky barrel. Formaldehyde, which we now take as a given, didn’t come along till the Civil War era.

Our town of Wylder, Wyoming is perhaps fortunate to have one Angus (Gus) Wright in residence. Having trained as a boy with a big-city undertaker back in Philadelphia, Gus has the know how and the gravity of manner to suit the occasion. He can knock up a wooden coffin and sell it to you for just a dollar, and help settle your loved one all cozy inside. For a bit extra in payment, he’ll even cart the dearly departed out to the Bone Orchard burying yard, and see to the internment.

Whatever the situation, you can believe Gus will treat your loved one with dignity and respect. It’s just the way he is. He’s good at keeping secrets too, because he has one of his own. And though it doesn’t always show, his heart’s as soft as they come.

Is there any hope of love, for such a man, in Wylder Wyoming? Perhaps yes, if his proposed lady love arrives in a fancy casket…

My latest Wylder West story, A Wylder Undertaking, releases on March 3, 2021. And it’s available for preorder now!

Blurb:

When town undertaker Gus Wright accepts delivery of a client's fancy casket, he certainly doesn't expect to find a beautiful young woman hidden inside. And when she throws herself on his mercy, his gentlemanly nature kicks in. He offers assistance despite his suspicion there's trouble brewing.

On the run from a heist, Phoebe Corbet has a fortune in jewels following her, along with just a few pesky problems. If she can use Gus Wright as a refuge until her accomplice turns up, she'll do so. If she finds herself seduced by his unassuming manners and gentle kindliness, who could blame a girl? The tricky part will be convincing him there's a reason destiny has thrown them together.



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